


Selfies With a Stranger

by thoroughlynerdy



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU- Vlogger, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9293015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoroughlynerdy/pseuds/thoroughlynerdy
Summary: Challenged by his followers, Aiba attempts to take selfies with as many strangers as possible. And fails miserably.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for airairo at the 2016 Aiba Exchange on Livejournal.
> 
> I have no actual knowledge of vlogging, so beware inaccuracies.

“This is so stupid,” Aiba groaned and buried his face in his hands. He was currently smack dab in the middle of Yoyogi Park and hating every second of it.

“Are you calling your loyal viewers stupid?” Nino called to him, his voice laced with both amusement and feigned shock.

Aiba ripped his hands away from his face and turned towards his best friend with a look of horror, “You’re not filming yet, right? I didn’t mean they’re stupid, I meant that _I’m_ stupid for being so freaked out by this.” He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the camera hanging innocently down by Nino’s side and Nino snickering as he fiddled with his phone.

“Nah, not filming yet, just texting Ohno and keeping him updated on how much of an idiot you’re being.”

Aiba wanted to snap back with a witty reply to Nino, but his words died on his lips as he realized he was in no real position to argue.

Aiba Masaki was a popular vlogger who ran a channel called Masaki dot Com where people would submit questions and he would research to give them the most thorough and accurate answer possible. Whether it was which coffee shop in Roppongi has the best café au lait, or which brand of shoe polish covers scuffs the best, Aiba would dutifully try as many options as possible, film his reactions, and then report back. He’d been at it for about six months now and Nino had been dragged in after his subscriber count passed 20 thousand. He started doing more on location filming instead of just out of the comfort of his 1LK.

Two months ago Aiba’s viewers started requesting for him to film a “Meet the Vlogger” series to give them a little more insight into the man behind the unorthodox research methods. He’d complied, and filmed one a few weeks ago in which he’d revealed the fact that he was actually incredibly shy. So shy that he had trouble looking most people in the eye, so it was much easier to interact with people through his vlog where he didn’t have to speak face to face with an actual human. At the end of the video he’d asked his viewers to leave suggestions in the comments for ways to combat his shyness and he would try a few of them out.

He’d accepted the challenge which was how he’d found himself in the middle of Yoyogi Park with his best friend and unintentionally insulting his viewers.

“You really had to choose the “Selfies with a Stranger” challenge for me?” Aiba asked, a whine creeping into his voice as he saw the smirk on Nino’s face grow wider.

“Twenty minutes to take as many selfies as possible with people you don’t know? What could be a better solution to your problem?” Nino countered.

Aiba just groaned in reply and looked at the people streaming past as he stood slightly off the sidewalk winding through the park.

Finally Nino seemed ready. He had one earbud in, but retrieved the camera from the tripod and picked it up to frame his shot.

“Ready?” Aiba asked as he nervously twirled his phone in his hands.

“Just a sec, let me call Ohno,” Nino replied.

“Ohno? What do you need to call Ohno for?” Aiba protested crossing his arms over his chest.

“Uh, I cannot be the only one witnessing this right now and since he can’t physically be here, I need to describe every awkward detail to him so he can experience this moment vicariously.”

Aiba sighed deeply and resigned himself to further humiliation. “Can we just do this already?”

Two minutes later Nino had the timer running and Aiba framed in the shot looking like a deer caught in headlights as six separate people had passed him without him so much as a glance in their general direction.

“You know you’re actually going to have to speak to someone in order to get them to agree to a picture, right?” Nino called out to Aiba.

Aiba flipped him off and refused to look at him. He knew he was failing this challenge miserably and he didn’t need the constant reminder that was his best friend making snide comments every fifteen seconds. He snuck a murderous glance towards a cackling Nino, one headphone in, as he described the scene in vivid detail to Ohno.

“Ohno thinks you should start dancing and see if anyone joins in, then you can ask them for a selfie to celebrate once you’re done!” Nino calls over to him after a minute.

Aiba stilled and mentally weighed the merits of actually going through with that suggestion. It could work and the sillier he danced, the more receptive to joining him people would be since they wouldn’t feel intimidated because he was “too good.” A vision of him executing a particularly wild hip thrust and accidentally knocking over a poor unsuspecting obaa-chan had him shaking his head wildly back at Nino. “Not gonna happen.”

“You have fifteen minutes left, you better start taking this seriously!” Nino called back in response.

Aiba pocketed his phone and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. He really did need to try and at least get one picture with someone before time ran out. Nino would never let him have a do-over, so he would be stuck with sharing his failure on his channel and revealing that he really was just as lame as he feared. Glancing down the walkway, Aiba let out a small growl of frustration as it was completely empty. “Maybe we should start over somewhere else?” Aiba asked hopefully.

“If we go somewhere else you’re only getting the time left on the clock, which is now thirteen minutes and forty two seconds,” Nino replied with a smirk. “Now Ohno says you should pretend to trip in front of the next person that walks by, then when they lean down to help you you can just whip out your phone and ambush them with the selfie.”

Aiba turned and stared at him, “I’m trying to get selfies with strangers, not attack people.”

“I didn’t say trip them, I said to pretend to trip yourself. I mean, you’re obviously not going to actually talk to anyone so you have to do something to get their attention,” Nino countered. “No, he still hasn’t even _spoken_ to anyone. It’s pathetic,” Nino added with a roll of his eyes.

“At least tell him _why_ I haven’t talked to anyone! No one has walked by recently!” Aiba shouted, hoping Ohno could hear him through Nino’s microphone.

“That’s been the last two minutes. You let an entire group of school girls pass by earlier and there is no excuse for missing such an easy selfie.

“You sound like such a dirty old man right now,” Aiba replied wrinkling his nose in mock disgust.

Nino bristled at Aiba’s words. “And you know I’m not into girls, school or otherwise, so stop trying to defame my character or I’ll get Ohno to kick your ass.”

“Oh like I’m scared of Ohno,” Aiba scoffed, “He’d probably just try and cuddle me to death or something. Your boyfriend is the non-aggressive type.”

Aiba lost the next five minutes to running away from his aggressive-type best friend who was chasing him around attempting to extract his revenge.

“Seven minutes and thirty four seconds left, Aiba-chan,” Nino panted as they finally settled back into their respective positions.

“You’re trying to make me fail this challenge, aren’t you?” Aiba accused clutching at a stitch in his side. He was a little embarrassed how winded he was after just a few minutes of running, but cardio was never really his thing. He was more of a weight man these days.

“That’s just bonus,” Nino grinned.

Aiba dutifully went back to ignoring his best friend and turned back to the park. Once again the path in both directions was completely empty and he felt a wave of panic wash over him. This challenge was a complete bust and now his followers, hell, the entire internet, would know how incapable he truly was.

As the clock continued to count down, Aiba threw another desperate glance at Nino who was looking a little less amused now that the path was empty again. He was getting desperate and decided that humor would be his next best option. “Maybe I should change it to selfies with a squirrel?” he wondered aloud as he made his way towards a nearby tree and a curious looking squirrel.

Aiba approached cautiously, turning so that his back was to the animal and he could get both of their faces in the shot. “Hey buddy, I’m just gonna get a quick picture with you, okay?” Aiba asked softly as he framed the shot.

Much to his amusement, the squirrel waited patiently while Aiba snapped the pic. He turned, gave it a slight bow, and then beamed back at Nino and the camera. “At least I got one selfie done!”

Nino’s responding groan had Aiba smiling again despite the sinking feeling in his stomach and in that moment Aiba resolved to speak to the absolute next person he saw no matter what. He told Nino (and the camera) as much to make himself accountable for following through. He could and would conquer this fear. He was _Masaki dot Com_.

Forty seconds later he wanted to immediately take it back. He swallowed thickly as what could only be described as the most attractive man Aiba had ever set sights on walked into view. He wore a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses, and Aiba was utterly smitten at first sight. He threw a panicked look at Nino who was waving him in the direction of the hot stranger, a gummy smile plastered onto his face. Even though it would mean absolute and certain failure and having to admit said failure to thousands of people on the internet, Aiba never prayed harder for the ground to swallow him up than in that moment.

Steeling himself, Aiba started walking towards the stranger to meet him along the path and forced himself to smile as brightly as he could. “Uh, excuse me, can I have a minute of your time?” He asked uncertainly, pulse jumping as he caught his attention.

As expected, the stranger gave him a wary glance as he slowed down to meet Aiba. “What can I help you with?”

“I’m, uh, filming this challenge for YouTube. I’m a vlogger known as Masaki dot Com and I’m doing this thing where I need pictures with people I don’t know,” Aiba explained quickly, eyes looking anywhere but the man before him. “Would you be willing to help me with it?” He then chanced a glance at him.

“I’m, uh, you want a picture with me?”

Aiba could see his brow furrowed between his glasses and hat and even that had his heartbeat speeding up. Even if he wasn’t filming a challenge Aiba would love a picture with him, maybe even one with a few less layers of clothing on.

“If it’s not too much trouble. My best friend is filming this for the channel, but I can delete the picture as soon as we’re done if you want,” Aiba said quickly and gestured towards Nino.

“No he can’t!” Nino yelled startling them both.

“Why can’t I?” Aiba called back turning toward him, eyes wide as he waited for an explanation.

“We need it as proof. We have to post it in the video to prove you actually took the picture and didn’t just pose for it,” Nino explained slowly, the unsaid “idiot” made heat pool in Aiba’s cheeks. “Either way we’re losing time. You have about a minute and ten seconds before you fail this challenge miserably,” Nino said with a roll of his eyes.

Aiba threw a panicked look at Nino before turning back to the stranger, “Help?” he asked desperately.

“Sure let me just,” the man replied and pulled off his glasses and turned toward Aiba with a soft smile on his face, “How do we do this?”

Aiba pulled out his phone, opened the front facing camera, and slung an arm around him, “Smile…” he trailed off, only now realizing he never got the other’s name.

“Matsumoto Jun,”

“Smile, Matsumoto-san,” Aiba requested with a grin of his own as he leaned in to press their faces a little closer together. He felt Matsumoto stiffen, then relax next to him just before he took the picture and captured the moment. He really liked the way they seemed to fit so easily together. A little like puzzle pieces slotting into place, but Aiba tried to shake off that thought. It was a little too soon for that train to depart the station.

Once they were done, Aiba bowed and gave his savior a smile, “Thanks for taking the picture. You are literally the only reason I didn’t fail this challenge and I am in your debt forever.”

“You should take him to lunch as a thank you, since time is up anyway,” Nino suggested as he turned off the camera and began to pack up the equipment.

“Oh, I’m sure Matsumoto-san has a really busy schedule,” Aiba said quickly shooting Nino a look that very clearly said “I will stomp on your PlayStation if you do not shut up.”

“I, uh, actually don’t?” Matsumoto spoke up next to him. He hadn’t put his sunglasses back on yet so Aiba could see the softness in his eyes as he gave him a warm smile.

“Oh, well, um, there’s a really good kara’age place a few blocks from here? If you’re interested?” Aiba asked.

“I’d like that,” Matsumoto replied.

Aiba gave Nino a flustered wave as he lead Matsumoto towards the restaurant. He seriously needed to thank both Nino and his subscribers if this turned out to be anything more than lunch with a hot guy.  
…

Three months later Aiba settled in front of the camera, lab coat in place and smile bright as he addressed his audience. “Hello and welcome back to Masaki dot Com! Today we are joined by the best assistant in the universe, MatsuJun-san,” Jun gave a small wave and a shy smile at the mention of his name, “Who is here to help me determine which brand of lip balm is the most durable!”

“I’m not kissing you on camera, Masaki,” Jun huffed fondly from Aiba’s side.

“Who said anything about kissing?” Aiba asked, mock-scandalized as he pulled out a piece of poster board, pre-gridded and labeled with the six brands in question. His smile only grew as a flush creeped up Jun’s neck and settled on his cheeks. “Jun-chan here seems to have a bit of a dirty mind, but that’s okay, I’ll save our private experiments for off-camera,” Aiba said with an attempted lecherous wink at the camera.

“Shut up, let’s just start the experiment. I’m making you edit this out later anyway” Jun huffed and cuffed Aiba fondly on the back of the head.

Aiba just rubbed his head and beamed in response as the words “I didn’t edit it out” flashed merrily on the screen below him.


End file.
